"Drive-by" Viruses on the Rise

Sophos claims that new and creative malware will push the total number of viruses/malware to one million by year's end. According to a report about 25 percent of unique malware has been created in the last six months of its 20 year history.

Malware writers have had to adjust to better security practices and have been forced to create new types of viruses/malware targeting exploits on a more regular basis. Most conventional methods of spreading virus and worms have been reduced through good use of email filtering technology, gateways, and overall education of the general user community. Five years ago 1 in 40 infected email attachments would get through most firewalls. Today that figure is down to 1 in 1000.

Today most malware is not spread through email but through a technique called "drive by downloads".
This attack takes advantage of known exploits in browsers, operating systems, and users willingness to trust most web sites. In a "drive by" an unsuspecting user downloads and installs software without them even knowing it while they surf the web. It usually happens when they agree to install plugins, run a Java Applet, or launch Active-X applications. These Web pages are modified with simple code that redirects visitors to another site infected with malware that can break into the users PC (again, without the user even realizing it).

The goal of these attacks is to gain access to the computer from behind the firewall. This can lead to fraudsters being able to monitor these hijacked PCs and gather details submitted to a legitimate sites such as online banks. This is known as pharming.

Pharming is different than phishing. With phishing a site will falsely claim to be a legitimate enterprise in the hope the user is fooled to submit their data. Most anti-virus software can detect phishing attempts, but not pharming because the malware is running inside the firewall.

To protect yourself you can try some of the following:

* only visit sites you trust
* regularly update your browser and anti-virus applications
* consider not accepting to run ActiveX, Java Applets, or other executables
* disable plug-ins from your browser.

Again, educating users is the best defense.
Spread the word.

Vassilios

_____________________

Vassilios
Co-Founder
OuterVillage.com
http://outervillage.com

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_____________________

Vassilios
Co-Founder
OuterVillage.com
http://outervillage.com

If you enjoyed this posting please subscribe to our RSS feed or submit it to your favorite social networks.

_____________________

Vassilios
Co-Founder
OuterVillage.com
http://outervillage.com

If you enjoyed this posting please subscribe to our RSS feed or submit it to your favorite social networks.